Robbers Strike Again Benin-Ore highway, shoot driver in head

A
53-year-old driver, Suleman Tajudeen, has been admitted to the Benin Specialist
Hospital, Edo State, after he was shot in the head by suspected armed robbers.

It
was gathered that the armed men, numbering about 10, had stormed the Ore-Benin
highway at about 4.30am on Monday.

The
suspected robbers were said to have barricaded a portion of the road in order
to slow down vehicular movement and rob unsuspecting motorists and passengers.

It
was learnt that Tajudeen, said to be a contract driver with Complete
Communications Limited, publisher of Complete Sports Newspaper, had
attempted to flee from the robbers when he was shot in the head.

The
father of two and native of Abeokuta in Ogun State, who is currently receiving
treatment at the male ward in the hospital, told PUNCH Metro that the
armed men dispossessed him of N48,000 and a mobile phone.

He
said the robbers thought that he had died from gunshot injury when they saw him
in a pool of blood.

The
injured driver, however, said he was later rushed to the hospital when his
vehicle arrived at Benin.

Tajudeen
stated, “I was driving towards Benin, between Ore and Ofusu, when I saw their
(robbers) barricade. A driver with TheGuardian Newspaper, Mr.
Kayode, was behind me.

“When
I saw the barricade, I stopped. As I tried to reverse, they (robbers) shot and
the vehicle stopped. One of the robbers said that I was dead.

“They
dragged me out of the vehicle, searched me and stole about N48,000 and my
mobile phone before they left. After they left, I managed to drive to Benin
while blood was still flowing.”

Calls
put across to the mobile line of the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Moses
Nkombe, for comments went unanswered.

He
had yet to respond to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this
report.

But
the Benin sales representative of the company, Pastor Ayo Oiseomaoje, who
confirmed the incident, decried the activities of armed robbers on the highway.

According
to Oiseomaoje, robberies on the road, which is a major route to the
South-South, had become a regular occurrence.

“The
hospital initially advised us to go to the police to get a report, but we were
told in Benin that the incident occurred in the jurisdiction of the police in
Ore. However, at the end of the day, he was given medical treatment. He is
still in the hospital,” Oiseomaoje said.

Pucnch

Robbers Strike Again Benin-Ore highway, shoot driver in head
Reviewed by Nene Sochi-Okereke
on
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Rating: 5